41. Reath
41
REATH
“ Y ou’re not driving,” Beauden said.
I didn’t bother arguing. Beau had a thick head and could be as stubborn as hell.
My jaw was so tight, and I was trying hard to keep it together. Cryo. What the hell did it mean?
I’d sent pictures of the letters to PSS. I knew that Noah and Linc would be running every option.
I slid into the passenger seat of the SUV and looked out the window. Where are you, Frankie?
She’d fight to survive. I knew that.
Now I just had to find her in time.
“We’ll head back to PSS,” Beau said as he started the engine.
Colt, Dante, and Kavner climbed into the back seat.
I gave a nod. As we drove, I stabbed a finger at the dash. “Tell me something.”
“Boss, we’re running multiple searches.” Linc’s voice came through the console. “We’ve pulled in all available team members. We’re looking for any company names with ‘cryo’ in it. We’re searching refrigeration companies and locations. We’re combing CCTV for the vehicle Auclair is using. We spotted a blue Ford Explorer in the area of the Mardi Gras warehouse, so Keiko is following up on that. Noah is studying the images you sent of Frankie’s message.”
I bit off a curse. All of that would take too long, and Frankie didn’t have that kind of time.
“Wait!” Noah’s voice.
My pulse spiked. “Have you got something?”
“The letters were a bit smudged. I think she was interrupted as she was writing them. There’s a slight down stroke on the O. I think it might’ve been meant to be a P.”
I pulled out my cellphone and looked at the photo. I saw it. The O could definitely be a P. “C-R-Y-P. Cryp.” I sucked in a breath. “Crypt. She didn’t get to write the T.”
“Crypt?” Beau said.
I met his gaze. “One of the cemeteries.”
Kav cursed. “He’s going to lock her in a tomb.”
That would suit Auclair’s sense of drama.
“Which cemetery?” My hand squeezed on my phone. “There’s St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, 2 and 3. There’s Lafayette Cemetery.”
“St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 is the oldest,” Dante said.
“Lafayette is closer,” Colt said.
“It’s Lafayette Cemetery No. 1.” Keiko’s no-nonsense voice came from the dash. “I spotted the blue Explorer there.”
Beau wrenched the wheel, the tires screeching.
The cemetery was in the heart of the Garden District and not too far away.
“Noah, Linc,” I said. “The cemetery has over a thousand tombs. I need you to narrow down possible crypts Auclair might use.”
“On it,” Noah said.
But it was possible Auclair would just pick one randomly. I might still be too late.
I felt a hand on my shoulder. I looked back at Dante.
“She’s strong and feisty,” Dante said. “She’ll hold on.”
I nodded. The drive was only a few minutes but felt like hours.
Beau finally slammed on the brakes, and I flew out of the SUV. I looked up at the metal archway and the gate into the cemetery.
The lock had been cut off the gate.
Beyond it was darkness. I could just make out the shadows of tombs and some trees.
“There are flashlights in the back of the SUV,” I said.
“I’ll get them,” Colt responded. A moment later, he handed us all one.
As my brothers flanked me, I pulled out my Glock. I touched my earpiece. “We’re at the cemetery.”
“We don’t have any targets yet,” Linc said. “Sorry, boss. We’re working on it.”
My hands clenched on the hilt of my gun. Beside me, my brothers turned on their flashlights.
“We split up,” I ordered. “Take different sections of the cemetery.”
They all nodded.
My brothers split off, and I jogged down a line of crypts, listening for any sounds and searching for any movement in the darkness.
Everything was dead still and silent.
“Where are you, Frankie?” I whispered.
I kept moving, aiming my flashlight around. It illuminated run-down graves and tombs, and the eerie branches of the trees rising above them. I moved down the next row of crypts. The path was uneven in places, the stones covered in moss.
My chest was tight. There was every chance Auclair would hurt her. That I could lose her.
I paused, my hands on my hips, and dragged in some deep breaths. I couldn’t afford to lose it.
In the beam from the flashlight, I saw something glint on the ground.
Crouching, I snatched the object up.
My lungs locked. It was Frankie’s lucky pin. The winking monkey looked back at me.
My fingers curled around it. She’d left me another clue.
“That’s my girl.” I touched my earpiece. “Guys, I found Frankie’s pin. Noah, Linc, focus in on my current location. Search for any possible crypts in this area.”
I heard tapping keys. “Looking now,” Noah said.
“Nothing’s coming up with Auclair’s name,” Linc said.
“Check his wife’s name.”
“Okay.” Noah cursed. “Nothing comes up for Maurelle.”
“Wait,” I said. “Check her maiden name.”
“There’s one!” Excitement cut through Noah’s voice. “A crypt for a Deschamps family.”
My instincts flared to life. I had no rational reason to believe it was the spot, but I knew.
“That’s it. Where?”
“Fifty feet from your location,” Noah replied. “Head west.”
I spun and ran.
The darkness thickened. The crypts blurred as I picked up speed.
I had to get to Frankie.
I couldn’t imagine my life without her now.
“You’re getting close, Reath,” Noah said.
That’s when I heard a muffled shout.
I spun.
My flashlight fell on the engraved name on a large crypt. Deschamps.
I charged forward and wrenched the door open.
“You’ll be dead before Fury finds you.” Auclair’s voice echoed from deeper in the tomb.
“Fuck you!” Frankie cried, her voice hoarse.
I raced inside.